--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are certain concepts, which exist…" description: "\"There are certain concepts, which exist in english, and are unthinkable, untranslatable into Hebrew and vice versa.\" — Amos Oz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/558/amos-oz-1478_certain_there-are-certain-concepts-which-exist-i_864298.png" --- # There are certain concepts, which exist in english, and… ![“There are certain concepts, which exist in english, and are unthinkable, untranslatable into Hebrew and vice versa.” quote by Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/558/amos-oz-1478_certain_there-are-certain-concepts-which-exist-i_864298.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/558/amos-oz-1478_certain_there-are-certain-concepts-which-exist-i_864298.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/558/amos-oz-1478_certain_there-are-certain-concepts-which-exist-i_864298.png) > “There are certain concepts, which exist in english, and are unthinkable, untranslatable into Hebrew and vice versa.” [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language shapes thought; some ideas lack direct equivalents across languages, limiting precise translation. **In simple terms:** Some ideas can’t be directly translated between English and Hebrew. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect linguistic limits. Themes language translation culture thought communication Mood thoughtful curious Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - travel - academic research - cross‑cultural dialogue - language teaching Key Concepts relativity semantic gaps linguistic determinism Questions to Reflect On - How do you convey untranslatable concepts? - What does this imply about thinking? A Different Perspective Nuances may be conveyed through description, not single words. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [English Unthinkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-unthinkable-885508/) [Hebrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Unthinkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unthinkable/) [Unthinkable Untranslatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unthinkable-untranslatable-885506/) [Untranslatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untranslatable-885507/) [Untranslatable Hebrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untranslatable-hebrew-885505/) [Vice versa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-versa/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [There are certain concepts, which exist in English, and are unthinkable, untranslatable into Hebrew and vice versa. Hebrew has a system of tenses, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/there-are-certain-concepts-which-exist-in-english-and-are-unthinkable/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Your voice is wild and simple. You are untranslatable Into any one tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/your-voice-is-wild-and-simple-you-are-untranslatable-into-any-one/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [I am too not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-too-not-a-bit-tamed-i-too-am-untranslatable-i-sound-my-barbaric/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-too-am-not-a-bit-tamed-i-too-am-untranslatable-i-sound-my-barbaric/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There is an hour of the afternoon when the plain is on the verge of saying something. It never says, or perhaps it says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/there-is-an-hour-of-the-afternoon-when-the-plain-is-on-the-verge-of/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/proper-names-are-poetry-in-the-raw-like-all-poetry-they-are/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [ “the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive \[for one and all\] to learn Spanish.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-f-g-bell/the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable-and-this-undeniable-fact-is/) [Aubrey F.G. Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-f-g-bell/) > [The history of a culture can be determined by its untranslatable words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-history-of-a-culture-can-be-determined-by-its-untranslatable-words/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It is a commonplace that Racine is untranslatable. This is not because his verse is difficult, but because it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/it-is-a-commonplace-that-racine-is-untranslatable-this-is-not-because/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-too-am-not-a-bit-tamed-i-too-am-untranslatable/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Dharma, the word at the heart of the epic, is in fact untranslatable. Duty, goodness, justice, law and custom all have something to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gurcharan-das/dharma-the-word-at-the-heart-of-the-epic-is-in-fact-untranslatable/) [Gurcharan Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gurcharan-das/) > [The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-untranslatable-thought-must-be-the-most-precise/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The revival of Hebrew, as a spoken language, is a fascinating story, which I'm afraid I cannot squeeze into a few sentences. But, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-revival-of-hebrew-as-a-spoken-language-is-a-fascinating-story/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I think there are one or two things similar in Elizabethan English and contemporary Hebrew. This is not to say that every one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-think-there-are-one-or-two-things-similar-in-elizabethan-english/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Not now, for the last three thousand years, Hebrew has been penetrated and fertilized by ancient Semitic languages - by Aramaic, by Greek, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/not-now-for-the-last-three-thousand-years-hebrew-has-been-penetrated/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## More by Amos Oz > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“All the profits that Papa made by the sweat of his brow from his mill she extorted from him and spent the lot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/all-the-profits-that-papa-made-by-the-sweat-of-his-brow-from-his-mill/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Nobody ever predicted, a week before President Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977, that his arrival would be the beginning of a peace process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/nobody-ever-predicted-a-week-before-president-sadat-came-to-jerusalem/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But simultaneously, there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/every-country-in-the-world-should-follow-the-example-of-president/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I think loathing begets fanaticism, and in the end, loathing begets hatred and violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-think-loathing-begets-fanaticism-and-in-the-end-loathing-begets/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Literature is about telling stories. Now, the gift of literature is that, in some lucky cases, reading a novel or a story makes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-is-about-telling-stories-now-the-gift-of-literature-is/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Very often, fanaticism begins at home. It begins inside the family. It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [We have to carry through to the next day and hope that we will be okay tomorrow as we are today and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/we-have-to-carry-through-to-the-next-day-and-hope-that-we-will-be/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Trump is many things. He is pampered. He is an immature man. He is a teenager craving unconditional, endless love from everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/trump-is-many-things-he-is-pampered-he-is-an-immature-man-he-is-a/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-only-way-to-keep-a-dream-any-dream-at-all-to-keep-a-dream-perfect/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“Judaism and Christianity, and Islam too, all drip honeyed words of love and mercy so long as they do not have access to handcuffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/judaism-and-christianity-and-islam-too-all-drip-honeyed-words-of-love/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Never cut loose from your longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/never-cut-loose-from-your-longings/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) [Explore all 223 Amos Oz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) [T. H. 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